Arcade Fire's Win Butler Hopes Musical Return Can Help Heal America

Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler hopes the band's new music can help those who feel disheartened by the dramatic political events of 2016.

The Canadian-American indie rockers released I Give You Power, their first new music in two years on Thursday (19Jan17), the day before controversial billionaire Donald Trump is inaugurated as U.S. president.

Revealing the band had put out the single featuring American R&B singer and civil rights activist Mavis Staples, 77, to coincide with the inauguration, Win, 36, told DJ Zane Lowe on his Apple Music show he hoped the group's music could provide joy to those alarmed by the prospect of a Trump presidency.

"It's really easy to get sucked in to just sitting on the couch and checking your news feed and watching things on CNN and we're just musicians and the only thing that we really have to offer is our music," he explained.

"I talked to Mavis last night and she said now more than ever we need to come together and just kind of hold on to each other and for us it's just kind of solidarity and just share our heart and our music to not feel powerless, focus on what we can do as individuals to try and do our part."

Asked by Zane if he thought the turbulent state of the world would lead to other musicians incorporating politics into their work he added, "It's really crazy times and naturally I think a lot of art comes out of that."

Arcade Fire's as yet untitled fifth studio album is due out later this year (17).